Like Brothers
by Infamousplot
Summary: "It's been nearly a month, Master." I hated the pitiful sound of my voice at that moment. I heard him nod beside me. The claws jerked my heart again, squeezing even tighter, until the pain became too real. "What if he doesn't wake up?" Terra/Ven Brotherly


**This is my first Birth By Sleep influenced fic. I got the game! So there will probably be quite a few coming along... Eventually. Inspired by the cutscene in Aqua's story, where Ven wakes up after being asleep for awhile. I loved the expression on Terra's face when he came in, he just looked so excited, and breathless -like he'd sprinted in as soon as he'd heard. I love those two as brothers. It's so sweet ^_^ So please, enjoy my take on Terra's view of Ven's slumber.**

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As I walked down the marbled halls, I started thinking. Because Aqua was walking a few paces ahead of me, I couldn't help but hear her know-it-all voice in my head as it told me "Not to try so hard, or you might break something." Hah. Very funny, Aqua.

"What's the point?" I asked quietly, staring at the polished floor and meeting eyes with my reflection. Aqua's footsteps then fell silent, but I didn't look up. Her anger shimmered in the air around me.

"What do you mean, what's the point?" She asked quietly. Finally, I dared to meet her gaze, which was as solemn as ever. She'd been like this for far too long, and doing this only made her sadder. So why bother?

"What makes you think today will be the day?" My hands dug into themselves in my pockets as I marched by her, trying to ignore the quivering anger that hovered around her. Her boots tapped furiously across the floor as she caught up with me, the ghost of a scowl on her lips.

"What makes you so sure today won't be?" Pausing, I glared down at her, but my defiance shriveled when it met her gaze. She had a point, after all.

"Don't be so negative, Terra." Master Eraqus's hand fell upon my shoulder. There was a smile in his voice, masked by his solemn expression. Sighing, I surrendered, returning my gaze to the glossy floor, which stared back up at me almost mockingly. _Giving in to them already?_ It laughed. I tried to stomp on its face, but only ended up tripping.

"I don't understand why she puts herself through this every day." I muttered, glancing somberly at the Master. He looked down at me in surprise, asking me in silence what it was I meant. "I mean... It's been almost a month, Master. Every day, she goes to see him... And every time, he's still asleep." I bit down on each word, forcing the images from mind. "Every time she's sees him like that... She just gets so upset. Why put herself through that same disappointment?" I asked, feeling hopeless. "I... Really hate seeing her that sad." I admitted. Doing so made me feel strange, like I was suddenly vulnerable. Master Eraqus gave my shoulder a squeeze and smiled warmly at me.

"I know it's difficult." He acknowledged, the solemnity still in his voice. "But going there each day... It gives Aqua hope." I stared at him blankly. Sighing, I glared darkly at the floor again, muttering quietly.

"I don't see how." Over three weeks ago, Ventus had fallen into some strange, deep sleep. He hadn't opened his eyes since. It was puzzling to everyone, even Masters Eraqus and Xehanort. Especially to Master Eraqus. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it. Ven wasn't sick, of that they were sure, and his vital signs were all fine. So why didn't he just wake up? Master Xehanort had suggested that perhaps it was some sort of mental lapse, but apparently, it was much more simple. Ven was just asleep. And he would not wake up for anything.

He laid there like a doll. Unmoving. Motionless. Dead.

Something grasped at my heart as that image popped to mind. No, Ven was not dead. But he sure looked it, at times.

A hand squeezed my shoulder again, harder, and I looked up into Master Eraqus's firm gaze. There were times when I swore the Master could read my mind. It wouldn't surprise me.

"Aqua knows as well as you do that there's nothing we can do to wake Ven up, for the time being." He smiled sadly. "The only thing she can do is be there for him, and pray that he will awake soon." Meekly, I nodded. That seemed fair enough. "Don't you think Ven would like that? Knowing that his two best friends were by his side, even now?" Sighing, I nodded.

"Still... I wish... I mean, isn't there anything we can do to help him?" The despair in my chest had risen into my voice, and I hated it. It was like some mangled stray dog, begging and howling. Absolutely pathetic. I couldn't stand this feeling of powerlessness, this weakness inside me. Ven wasn't waking up, and there was nothing I could do about it. The something that had grasped my heart tightened its grip, digging in like metal claws. They hurt. It hurt.

Master Eraqus took a seat, several yards from Ven's door. Aqua had already gone in. For a moment, my feet tried to follow her, but the iron claws around my heart held me in place. I was frozen. The image of Ven, lying there so stilly, like he was dead, bobbed up in my mind again, and meekly, I took a seat. My hands clasped each other and I stared blankly at the ground. I didn't think I could stand to see him like that again.

"It's been nearly a month, Master." I hated the pitiful sound of my voice at that moment. I heard him nod beside me. The claws jerked my heart again, squeezing even tighter, until the pain became too real. "What..." Don't say it. "What if..." Do not say that. "What if he doesn't wake up?" A mouse's squeak of a voice asked. I couldn't look up. I couldn't do anything. The claws dug in, ripping me apart. Memories exploded inside me, of Aqua and Ven and the Masters and me, of just the three of us, of just Ven and me, and squeezed my eyes shut.

Ven was like a brother to me. An annoying, obnoxious, spastic, little brother, but still, the best brother I could have asked for. He couldn't not wake up. He couldn't _die_. He just couldn't.

From Ven's room, I heard a muffled sound. Aqua's voice, small and gentle. There was a clatter of footsteps, Aqua's boots sliding across the marble.

"Terra! Master Eraqus!" Her voice called. I looked up from my clenched hands, watching as she sprinted down the hall, nearly tripping. She stopped before us, breathless and grinning. "It's Ven-" She panted, still smiling, and suddenly, the iron claws around my heart started to loosen. Her eyes were sparkling like they hadn't in a long time, and I knew that it could only be because of one thing - "Ven is awake!" The claws slipped, clattering to the ground as I took of after her down the hall, Master Eraqus in our wake.

Lo and behold, it was true. There he was. Stumbling into the room after Aqua, I grinned as Ven turned to stare sleepily back at us.

"Well I'll be." Master Eraqus murmured from the doorway. I saw Aqua smiling, a smiler broader than any she'd ever had, and I grinned, the dying claws dissolving. Like an idiot, I started laughing. No more doll, no more silence, no more almost dead. Ventus was awake. He was finally, finally awake. All of my fears began to shrivel, bubbling away with the iron claws.

"Ven!" Aqua laughed, pulling him into her arms and holding him there.

"A... Qua?" He murmured, the sounds clumsy. Slowly, his hazy eyes drifted up, meeting mine. "Ter... Ra?" I grinned.

"Hey Ven." I was on my knees, next to Aqua, smiling stupidly because I didn't know what else to say.

"Hi... Guys." He yawned, stretching his way out of Aqua's grip. There was a tired smile on his face. Aqua looked at me with a triumphant sparkle in her eyes. "Long time... No see." He yawned again. I laughed, my heart feeling freer than it had in a long time. I reached a hand up, ruffling his hair, relieved to see that familiar scowl. Grinning, I said the words I knew all of us wanted to say to him.

"Good to have you back, Ven."

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**Alrighty. If you read this, review! If you think it was good, bad, in between, I don't care, REVIEW! If you don't, then Ven will fall asleep again, and Terra and Aqua will be emo! You wouldn't want that... Would you?**


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